E-Commerce And Its Significant Growth

1 week ago

In the past ten years,
as the high street has begun to diminish, e-commerce experienced growth at an
astronomical rate. We no longer need to visit the bank, as the likes of Revolut
exist as an app only bank, leave the house, or even speak to someone to get
food, thanks to the development of Just Eat. But, why is e-commerce taking
over?

Here, with Lookers, retailers
of the new Ford transit, we analyse the growth of e-commerce, while similarly
assessing where it goes from here.

When did it gain so much popularity?

In terms of aiding the
buying habits of the general public, e-commerce has established as a major
industry player. This year, Nasdaq has anticipated that 18% of purchases in the
UK will occur online, while 77% of us have bought goods online at some point.
Millennials are the biggest users of e-commerce services, with the age group
purchasing 54% of their products and services online.

Due to its
cost-efficiency, e-commerce has proved a popular choice for the vast majority
of big brands. Because of this and the internet offering a wider range of
custom, the popularity has sky rocketed for businesses. For consumers, they are
taking advantage of the lower rates as the prices of the products represent
this.

Doubling in value
since 2015, it is clear that e-commerce sales have no sign of taking their
metaphorical foot of the gas.

Continually improving

Although we may not buy every day, most of
us are guilty of browsing through the web on a bi-daily occasion — assisted by
the fact international boundaries on the web are removed. Companies are taking
advantage of e-commerce to tap into markets that they’d previously not have
been able to reach. To do this, you need to produce a strategic sales and marketing
plan to help you successfully convert international customers. Improved social
media campaigns are one of the main ways ecommerce is improving.

As we buy more online, our expectations
change. Consider it in terms of visiting a physical shop — we expect good
customer service and perhaps some form of perks for loyalty. Stats from an Alix
Partners report show that three quarters of Americans believe the offer of free
shipping impacts their final decision on whether to buy a product. While this
is the case, the maximum delivery time has continued to diminish. In 2012,
those expecting free delivery were willing to wait 5.5 days for their product.
By 2017 though, a full day had been wiped off that expectation.

Due to this increased pressure from
consumers, businesses which operate through e-commerce have invested
significantly in their delivery service. This has led to many companies
offering next-day delivery. While speed is important, so too is flexibility and
reliability. It’s no use a customer being offered a fast delivery time if it’s
not a convenient time frame. Because of this, companies like Amazon, who have
even started offering ‘free’ next day delivery to their Amazon Prime customers,
offer consumers the chance to choose a specific slot, meaning they know they’ll
be in to receive their goods.

Research has found that 52% of customers
won’t return to a product if they have a bad interaction, therefore it should
come as no surprise that by placing an emphasis on customer service, e-commerce
has established itself as retail leader

The future of shopping

With approximately 7.7
million people in the world, e-commerce boasts a hugely impressive 1.92 billion
digital buyers, expected to increase to 2.14 billion by 2021.The number of
people making purchases that will be facilitated by e-commerce is expected to
dramatically increase, too. Research has found that up to 95% of purchases by
2040 will be made using e-commerce.

With such an increase
in users, e-commerce business throughout the globe have invested significantly
and are currently trialing a number of new innovations. Amazon have
experimented with in-home delivery. The concept behind this is that the
consumer can remotely unlock their door via their smartphone when the delivery
driver arrives with the parcel. A real-time camera connection allows for added
security.

Although the likes of
Amazon may be ready to implement such plans, it doesn’t appear that the general
public are quite so up to speed. With 68% of US adults admitting they wouldn’t
feel comfortable granting a driver access to their home, it’s sure to take time
for the idea to catch on.

With several car
manufacturers and tech companies pushing further along with the development of
driverless cars, the general trust concerns expressed by the US public may not
be an issue. This removes any need for a delivery person, with takeaway
companies ready to roll out this concept. The recipient simply types a code
into the vehicle’s keypad to open a compartment where their food is kept. This
is currently being tested in the States and could well be brought over to the
UK in the near future.

The developments which
have taken place in the past decade have proven to us that e-commerce can
implement new innovations rapidly therefore our expectations for the future
should not be limited!